Chelsea FC To Be Rejected By Yoshinori Muto
What seemed like a sure thing just a few weeks ago is in doubt as FC Tokyo midfielder Yoshinori Muto is set to turn down a move to Chelsea FC. The Blues were reportedly willing to pay £4-6 million for the young attacker, a record for a player from the J-League in Japan and a record for a player currently plying his trade in Asia.
FC Tokyo's Muto will almost certainly turn down @ChelseaFC for Mainz, Sports Nippon reporting #daihyo
— Shintaro Kano (@shintarokano) May 2, 2015
The move hit the rumor mill as soon as Yokohama was announced as Chelsea FC’s kit sponsor next season. Popular belief was that Yokohama, a Japanese company, was looking for a Japanese face to place in its promotional materials in Asia and who better than an up and coming young player like Muto. The youngster voiced his concerns earlier in April about a lack of playing time at Chelsea and not wanting his career to stall at Stamford Bridge.
He is correct in assuming that he would have a hard time breaking in to the first team at Chelsea and he is just beginning to assert himself as a big time player in Japan and for the Japanese national team. A move to Mainz is of course a lower profile move than a move to Chelsea but at least he can guarantee himself some playing time in Germany versus coming to London and sitting on the bench or even being loaned out.
Muto is concerned he won't play enough w/@ChelseaFC + work permit issues will almost force him away from #PremierLeague #daihyo
— Shintaro Kano (@shintarokano) May 2, 2015
Shintaro Kano, a Japanese journalist reports that Muto is concerned about playing time and there is also the looming work permit issue. The new FA regulations are more stringent about a player participating in 75% of his nation’s fixtures over the last year and they no longer allow for appeals based on the player possessing extraordinary ability that would improve the quality of the league.
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The other stipulation is that if a player’s transfer fee is at least £10 million then he is considered a premium player and will be instantly granted a work permit. Of course Chelsea FC could afford to just pay an extra five or so million to bring his fee up to £10m if that is what needs to be done but every pound sterling counts in the era of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play so that is unlikely.
Perhaps the youngster can go to Mainz or some other club in the Bundesliga and raise his profile and allow for the Blues to take a crack at signing him again next summer. Yokohama will not have their Asian player to paste in advertisements all over Japan and the rest of Asia but they will have to make do with global superstars in Oscar, Cesc Fabregas, and Eden Hazard.
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